Berry farmer says demand for australian grown frozen berries is mounting, begins supplying frozen ma

Berry farmer says demand for Australian-grown frozen berries is mo…ng frozen market - ABC Rural (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

3/08/2015 2:55 pm

Berry farmer says demand for Australian-grown frozen berries is mounting, begins supplying frozen market ABC Rural By Marty McCarthy Tweet

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Posted Tue 17 Mar 2015, 9:12am

PHOTO: More Australian berry producers are opting to supply the frozen market (Marty McCarthy)

A berry grower with farms in Queensland and Victoria says Australian consumers are prepared to pay more for frozen berries grown locally, rather than imports.

MAP: Maroochydore 4558

The frozen berry market in Australia is currently dominated by South American and Chinese imports, mainly because they are cheaper.

However, another reason is that Australian farmers only grow enough berries for the domestic fresh market, with little left over for the frozen one.

Grower Matt Gallace said the consumer anger in response to the Hepatitis A scandal from imported berries meant the time was right to launch a line of frozen berries using Australian product.

"We have been seeing that consumer trend towards more localised product and more transparency. That's been going on for quite some time," he said However, Mr Gallace said it was impossible for his frozen berries, grown in Australia to compete on price against imports.

"We're not going to be priced comparatively. Our fruit will be at a premium, probably a couple of bucks per pack," he said.

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AUDIO: Berry grower Matt Gallace says the consumer

anger in response to the Hepatitis A scandal means the time is right to launch a line of frozen berries using Australian product (ABC Rural)

"We're not under any illusions that we can compete on a price basis." http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-17/berry-farmer-swaps-to-frozen-market/6324370

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Berry farmer says demand for Australian-grown frozen berries is mo…ng frozen market - ABC Rural (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

3/08/2015 2:55 pm

"We're not under any illusions that we can compete on a price basis."

Mr Gallace said he would use over-ripe fruit that would otherwise spoil before reaching the supermarket in his frozen line, resulting in less farm waste.

"It's an opportunity to recover fruit that would otherwise be discarded, because we have such high peaks and ebbs in strawberry production," he said.

"When there's plenty of fruit in the fresh market, we can freeze that fruit which would otherwise be discarded, and keep it until the demand has increased or the demand of fresh fruit has dried up."

The consumer reaction to the Hepatitis A frozen berry scandal has been fierce, to the extent that it forced the country of origin labelling debate back on the Federal Government's agenda.

Mr Gallace said he expected Australian shoppers would still want local product, even after the initial anger and concern amongst many consumers subsided.

"I'm sure the media hype will die down, but we're pretty confident that what we've been seeing in the last six to 12 months is that consumers are looking for transparency in where their food is from," he said.

"We wouldn't be starting this venture if we didn't think it was sustainable."

However, last week, Melinda McHenry, from the Institute for Future Farming Systems at Central Queensland University, told ABC Rural that Australian consumers might not be prepared to pay more for locally-grown berries.

"If a business can source a product from overseas cheaper, or is supported to take that produce at a cheaper price, they will do so," she said.

"Unfortunately that drives the decision to purchase a cheaper product over the products we have here.

"If the consumer demands that the product is Australian, then Woolworths or Coles or any other supply chain will follow suit.

"But if the main interest is still cost, then until we have a serious oversupply [locally], we actually can't meet that demand."

A growing number of Australian berry farmers want to supply the frozen market, and if that happens, it could push the overall price of Australian frozen berries down, and make them more price competitive against imports.

A farm in Western Australia has already upped its production of frozen berries in the wake of the imported berries scandal, and Mr Gallace expected other producers across the country to follow suit.

"Through our contacts with Victorian strawberry growers, we know there are a couple of growers who are looking at expanding into that market as well," he said.

"Growers are not really investing a heavy amount in infrastructure yet, but once that infrastructure can be invested in to automate the process, because a lot of it is hand hulling and labour intensive, then that price will come down to the consumer."

Topics: fruit, agricultural-crops, rural, food-safety, agricultural-marketing, agribusiness, maroochydore-4558, brisbane-4000, melbourne-3000

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-17/berry-farmer-swaps-to-frozen-market/6324370

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